Discrimination in Chains I don’t remember a time when there was prejudice, hate, and discrimination between races. All my life, I’ve been able to hang out, talk, and be friends with whomever I want, regardless of their skin color. Although I’ve never experienced it, books like Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson are a reminder that the world wasn’t always this way. There was once an America where slavery was rampant, and it was acceptable to shun or even hurt someone because of the color of their skin. Chains is the story a young slave girl named Isabel during the American Revolution and what she goes through during her time in enslavement to a Loyalist couple called the Locktons. Because discrimination between white and black people was so evident …show more content…
23). Their owner had died, and they were supposed to be freed, but no one would take the word of a slave that they were actually supposed to be free. Despite Isabel’s protests, they were sold to the Locktons and into more enslavement, this time the owners crueler than the last ones. Isabel was paid no attention because she was a slave. Her protestations were ignored by everyone, and there was nothing she could do about it. Also, because they were slaves, it was perfectly acceptable to split them up, even though they had no one else but each other. Poor Ruth was only five years old, but she was still sold away after Madam discovered her having a seizure and thought she was possessed by the Devil (p. 133). Ruth needed Isabel, and Isabel needed Ruth, too, but there was no attention paid to that because of discrimination between people back then. Master Lockton even discussed sensitive Loyalist plans to assassinate George Washington in front of Isabel because he would have never thought a slave could have enough wits to actually use that information against him. Little did he know, that’s exactly what happened. …show more content…
While the slaves were sometimes viewed as evil, or even monsters, by their owners, the cruelty the slave owners showed them made them into monsters instead. Isabel only wanted to save her sister when she was sold, but because of Madam’s cruelty toward slaves and people she thought inferior to her, she was punished harshly and branded so that her ‘insolence’ would be displayed for all to see. Madam was very harsh and cruel toward Isabel even when she had done nothing wrong. (p. 144) She even locked her in a potato bin when she found out Isabel was conversing with the rebels. She did all of this because she believed that she was better than them just because of the color of their skin and the fact they were slaves. When Madam discovered Ruth having a seizure, she didn’t listen to anyone that told her Ruth only had a medical condition. She insisted Ruth was possessed by the Devil, probably because she was predisposed to believe Ruth was evil. (p. 94) Madam believed Ruth to be a monster, but really, she was the monster, the evil one, in the story. What makes a person a monster is not the color of their skin, but how they treat other people. Madam was horrible to her slaves, but Isabel was kind and considerate to most people that she met, even though she was treated so appallingly. Many of the slaves at this time were treated the same way or even much
Of course not all masters were violent with their slaves and in fact they viewed them as everyday people. One of those people was Miss Mary Finch, she believed in treating all with love and kindness. Because of the mean and awful treatment that was directed
Every individual is born with a specific culture and color. Respecting each and every person is society’s duty. Society fails in doing so by treating each individual based on their color. Society has two ways to see a person and that is black and white. Whites are given the higher position and well treatment whereas blacks are treated in an opposite way than whites.
Before reading the book I figured it would be more a story line, however it’s in like manner to a documentary. I questioned if the book was going to mainly be about the hardships of slaves (which it mostly is). I chose this book due to my high fascination with slavery. I worship to learn about the hard times blacks went through (mainly slaves). I feel as if I’m not only learning more about my history, correspondingly I’m enlightening myself on how I could’ve been treated, comparatively what some of my ancestors probably went through.
My natural elasticity was crushed, my intellect languished, the disposition to read departed, the cheerful spark that lingered about my eye died; the dark night of slavery closed in upon me; and behold a man transformed into a brute” (55)! On the contrary, there were masters who treated their slaves fairly. For example, John Pinney was a
The ongoing problem of discrimination due to appearance has affected many, specifically black people. One of the most unusual things with no point or definition. This prejudice against black people has caused much unification within the United States. The lives of these black people have been severely affected, as it has affected their acts, appearances, and ways of life. As Brent Staples explains in his essay “Black Men and Public Space,” black people deal with many problems, from discrimination, and he explains these points in an orderly manner and each very thoroughly.
Chains Study Guide 1) Describe the life of slaves in the American colonies in the 1700s. The slaves in the American colonies in the 1700s lived under cruel conditions. Often they were separated from their families as Isabel and Ruth were separated,and they were ordered around and used as pawns in the war. Discuss the difference between a servant and a slave. The servants were being paid, and they were allowed to have their own homes, and a some kind of freedom.
Defining Oppression: Through the works of Marilyn Frye And Iris Marion Young How is oppression defined? Oppression, as defined by Cambridge Dictionaries, is “a situation in which people are governed in an unfair and cruel way and prevented from having opportunities and freedom.”
Although some of the masters mistress were well taken cared of, there were times were the African American women was forced into having sexual relations with the master or his children and were still forced to work outside with the others. The role of an African American women compared to the role of a white women were very different. In antebellum because of their sex most women were assumed to be weaker, and believed to be intellectually and physically suited for only domestic work.
Throughout the novel Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson there are many different conflicts within the book such as freedom, abuse, and the war between the Patriots and the loyalists. However the conflict that is the most consistent throughout the book is Isabel's care for her sister Ruth and the things that get in between the safety of her sister. Isabel and Ruth have to go through a lot of abuse from Madam which is their slave owner since they are slaves. Many things hjappen within this household that threaten Ruth's safety such as fear that she will be sold, beaten or mistreated in anyway because of possible poor performance with chores around the house. This makes Isabel search for any possible opportunity for freedom for the well being of herself and her sister.
She'll get it whether I give it to her or not.” This shows his obvious disregard to see her as a human being. To him, she's hardly even human and doesn’t even deserve a second thought. Another example of a slave being treated inhumanely would be in the part of the story describing a slave, “Weylin called her a good breeder, and he never whipped her.
But, he then goes to show how her transformation came to be of a true mistress and how that kind of foolish power corrupted her. She was not a bad person, but being able to control over another human being transformed her from an angel into a demon. Douglass saw the change in her how “That cheerful eye, under the influence of slavery, soon became red with rage; that voice, made all of sweet accord, changed to one of harsh and horrid discord; and that angelic face gave place to that of a demon” (38). This just shows how slavery affects not just the slave but the slave owners as well. This vicious cycle desecrates and destroys everyone involved.
Many people always speak of how today’s world is complex and convoluted, as if it was simple before that particular point. To build a future for one self, they must first know the past to progress. Frederick Douglass wrote a short essay on the Color Line, he does not directly state a definition of the color line, but rather explains the current racial affections, with in depth of the two conflicting races. He speaks on how the white philosophers spoke open and confidently about how the Negro was inferior. The Anglo Saxon had always been prejudice against the opposite race, it was their natural supposedly, but this is not based in science.
Throughout the narrative, the author includes his personal stories about experiencing the violence of slavery first-hand. For example, on page 20, he writes about the first time he witnessed a slave, his own aunt, getting the whip. “The louder she screamed, the harder he whipped; and where the blood ran fastest, there he whipped longest…I remember the first time I ever witnessed this horrible exhibition… It struck me with awful force. It was the blood-stained gate, the entrance to the hell of slavery…” The author including his experience of his aunts whipping, in detail, appeals to the emotions of the reader.
Some might believe that we are done with the dog days we say stuff like, “Oh there is no more racism,” or “Racism is over we have a black president now.” In addition, just because we have a black president does not mean racism is over, one person cannot make racism end, something that has been occurring for various centuries since the first ship arrived to Jamestown in 1607. As we have seen over and over these ongoing trends of dehumanizing people of color and how that is affecting them now. If you do not believe that racism and segregation does not exist anymore well black people where there are unstable social and economically and black were out of the housing market, where they could not buy a home where white people lived. (The House We
In many ways, Whitehead’s novel is a symbol of resistance. He encourages individuals to resist the attempts of the unjust, who wish to erase the diverse nation that history has worked so hard to build. Today, freedom in American is often taken for granted. Taking a look at the struggles faced by those enslaved, therefore, forces individuals to pay close attention to and learn from America’s frightful history. In doing so, modern generations have the ability to work towards building a better world, laid alternatively, on the foundation of equality and acceptance of all, regardless of sex, gender, and